


Unspoken Secrets

by Whilhelmina_Prince



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-06
Updated: 2017-01-06
Packaged: 2018-09-15 04:32:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9219167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whilhelmina_Prince/pseuds/Whilhelmina_Prince
Summary: Link falls ill during Mythical Entertainment's snowboarding getaway





	

“Aren’t you cold?”

Rhett, laying on top of the covers in a t-shirt and underwear, looked up from his phone. Link was in sweatpants and a hoodie, staring at the thermostat.

“No, not really. Are you?”

Link hugged himself and nodded. “I’m freezing. Can’t get warm.”

Rhett shrugged it off. Link was always cold. “Well, we were out on the slopes a pretty long time today. Turn up the heat if you have to.”

Link turned the dial on the old-fashioned thermostat. The lodge he, Rhett, and the crew were staying in for their week of skiing and snowboarding was comfortable, but old and rustic. He hoped the heat would kick in soon. Even after they’d come in from snowboarding and had a hot dinner, he just couldn’t seem to warm up.

Link set his glasses on the bedside table and crawled under the covers of his own bed. He felt a little bad about him and Rhett taking up two queen-sized beds in the biggest room in the lodge for just two people while the rest of the crew piled into the other smaller rooms, but Rhett had convinced him it was okay. They were the heads of the company and their idea to treat everyone to the trip. Besides, it wasn’t as if anyone was sleeping on a couch or the floor. They all had beds. There was no reason for he and Rhett to have to share.

“You going to sleep?”

Link nodded his head as he pulled all the blankets up as far as he could and tucked himself into a ball. “You?”

“Yup.” Rhett clicked his phone off and turned out the lamp on the table between their beds. Link closed his eyes. 

Rhett woke a few hours later to the sounds of rustling and chattering. “Link?” he whispered, but no reply came. “Link!” he said, a bit louder.

“So … cold ....”

Link’s voice was raspy. Something was wrong. Rhett rushed to his side. He could feel the heat pouring off Link’s body before he even touched him. But a brush of his hand to Link’s forehead confirmed what he already knew.

“Jesus, Link, you’re burning up.”

“Uh-uh. I’m cold,” Link murmured. There was just enough light for Rhett to see that Link’s eyes were still closed.

“Shit, shit, shit,” he grumbled as he made his way to the bathroom. He had a bottle of Advil there in case his back got to hurting. He poured a few into his hand and filled a cup with water before making his way back to Link’s side. 

“Link, man, you’ve got to wake up.” He shook his friend gently. Link’s eyes fluttered, but he didn’t seem to wake up. “Link!” He grabbed him by the shoulders. 

Link groaned, but opened his eyes. Rhett sighed with relief. For a second, he had panicked. He and Link both got colds all the time, but he’d never seen Link not respond like that. It was eerie.

“Link, you’ve got a fever. I brought you some medicine. You need to take it.”

Link tried to sit up, propping himself on his elbows, but couldn’t seem to find the strength. Rhett crawled over him to prop him up from behind. “Here,” he said, placing the small pills in Link’s hand. Even bringing his hand to his mouth seemed too much of a struggle, so Rhett gently helped Link raise his hand and tilt the pills in, and then brought the cup to Link’s lips himself.

“Take a sip,” he told Link. 

Link was shivering hard and his teeth were chattering, but Rhett could feel the sweat pouring from his body. His wife was always better at guessing how hot a kid’s fever was than he was, but he was damn sure Link was roasting at at least 103. 

“I think I need to take you to a hospital,” he said quietly.

Link shook his head. “Don’t wanna go anywhere. Just lemme go back to sleep.” His words were slurred and weak. 

“Christy’s gonna kill me. I promised her I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”

Link shook his head. “You just promised … you wouldn’t let me break anything.”

Rhett let him crumple back down onto the bed. 

He paced the floor and tried to remember what you were supposed to do for a fever. Was it keep them warm or cool them down? His mom had always piled blankets on him so he would sweat it out. Dven if it was wrong, Link said he was cold, so maybe keeping him warm was the best thing to do. 

Rhett ripped the blankets off his own bed and tucked them around Link, sitting down on the bed next to him to make sure he was fully covered. 

He started to stand up when Link’s tiny voice spoke up. “Don’t go.”

It was what Jessie would do when the kids were sick. 

So he stayed. And when Link kept shivering, even though Rhett thought he might boil to death, he crawled under the blankets and wrapped his body around Link’s.

It seemed like an eternity until Link stopped shaking. When he did, his muscles relaxed, and he seemed to sink back into Rhett, settling there as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“Love you, Rhett.”

It was so quiet, Rhett almost wasn’t sure he’d heard him right. They didn’t talk like that to each other. Not really. 

“Yeah, you too, buddyroll.”

“Mean it … love you … shoulda told you … a long time ago …”

Fever or not, even with his voice weak and unsteady, Link’s tone had changed. It was like a drunken confession he couldn’t bring himself to say while sober.

“Go to sleep, Link. I’ll take care of you.”

“I want … want you to always take care of me …”

“I will, bo.”

He felt Link’s body shake. “Shoulda told you … back in college … shoulda told you … I wanted you …”

Rhett laid in silence until he heard Link’s breathing change and he knew he was asleep. What did that mean? 

Did it mean …?

He tried to push the thought out of his mind, but the more he tried not to think about it, the more it invaded the darkest parts of his subconscious. It was something he had buried a long time ago, something he hadn’t allowed himself to remember once Link and Christy had gotten serious.

Had Link harbored that same thought for all those years?

It was hours later when exhaustion finally relieved him from those haunting thoughts.

He woke with the morning light, drenched with sweat from both of their bodies, Link still sleeping next to him with labored breaths. He snuck out of bed and showered, and when he emerged fully dressed, he found Link sitting up in bed, pale and damp.

“Hey, how are you feeling?”

Link yawned and rubbed his eyes. “Like I got run over by a truck. Hey, why do I have all your blankets?”

“You don’t remember?”

Link shook his head. “Last thing I remember is turning up the heat and getting in bed.”

Everything Link had said was in a fevered daze. He wouldn’t remember what he had said or why. Rhett’s spirit fell. He hadn’t even recognized the vague hope that had been dredged up until it fell away.

“You came down with a pretty bad fever. I got you some Advil and kept you warm.”

Link looked down at the bed. “Did you … sleep here?”

Rhett dropped his eyes to the floor. “Yeah. You were pretty sick. You … asked me to stay.”

“Oh.”

Neither man spoke for a few moments. Link finally broke the silence.

“Did I … did I say …” He stopped short. “Never mind.”

Rhett started to answer the unasked question, but couldn’t bring himself to it. 

“Do you want to head home early?”

Link shook his head. “Wouldn’t be fair to everybody. We only brought the two vans. They’d have to leave, too.”

“We could rent a car.”

“No need for you to miss out.”

Rhett gathered himself and sat back down on his own unslept in bed. “I can stay with you today. If you want.”

He thought he saw something in Link’s eyes, but it quickly disappeared. 

“You should go have fun. I don’t feel great, but I’ll be okay. I’m a big boy.”

Rhett nodded. “I’ll keep my phone on me. If you need anything …”

Link nodded back. “I’ll call. Promise.”

Rhett stood and walked to the door. He hesitated, knowing there was a conversation in the air that needed to be had. But maybe this wasn’t the time. Maybe it was best left for one of their late office nights, when they worked into the wee hours and slept in their private space. Maybe then, maybe with a couple of beers, it would be the right time. 

Not now, though. Not here. Not yet.

“I’ll come back early.”

“Go have fun, Rhett. I’m fine.”

“I … I love you, Link.”

Link’s eyes were big, but only for a fraction of a second. “Yeah. You too, brother.”


End file.
